The Las Vegas Raiders made a ton of free agency moves and spent lots of money to shore up several roster holes, yet didn't get a ton of love from PFF in their post-free agency rankings.
The Las Vegas Raiders threw its weight around in free agency, spending tons of salary cap space on several big free agents.
The most notable of the bunch is former Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, who signed a historical three-year, $81 million contract that includes $60 million fully guaranteed, making him the highest-paid center in the history of the National Football League by $9 million per season.
Las Vegas needed to address its offensive line problem and adding Linderbaum improves the unit tremendously. The Raiders also added former San Francisco 49ers guard Spencer Burford to assist Linderbaum in fixing the worst-ranked offensive line in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
The offensive line wasn’t the only unit to get upgrades. Sticking with the offense, the running game improved with the signings of the two O-linemen but also with the signing of fullback Connor Heyward; fullback was a position of need to new head coach Klint Kubiak, and he secured one of the best at a dying position.
Las Vegas also brought in former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor, a skilled route-runner who will be a reliable deep-threat for Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the eventual No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft.
Defensively, the Raiders drastically improved its linebacker room, signing former Green Bay Packers LB Quay Walker and former Philadelphia Eagles LB Nakobe Dean to three-year deals. Defensive end Kwity Paye signed a three-year, $48 million contract as well, providing Las Vegas with an additional threat opposite of star Maxx Crosby (if he isn’t dealt in a trade).
One big issue for the Raiders last season was special teams, specifically the kicking unit. Kicker Daniel Carlson, who converted 22 of 27 field goal attempts and 21 of 22 extra points, has been replaced by free agent kicker Matt Gay, who was a perfect 4-for-4 in field goals and XPs in limited opportunities for two teams last year.
Despite all these additions, PFF’s Mason Cameron ranked the Raiders as the 29th-best team post-free agency, only ahead of the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets.
“The Raiders were extremely active on the free-agent market, dishing out over $218 million in total guarantees this offseason,” Cameron wrote Thursday. “The crown jewel of their free-agency class is center Tyler Linderbaum, who cashed in as the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in NFL history. The move fits perfectly with new head coach Klint Kubiak’s run-heavy scheme and will help progress the offense substantially in 2026.”
The Raiders still need to fill in some holes at the draft, but with how it went about free agency, I heavily doubt this team is worse than the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans which are rated higher than Las Vegas.